Test Methodology
Comparison Systems - Part One |
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| System name | Chillblast Fusion Whisper Mini | CyberPower Infinity Xtreme XT | Dell Alienware Aurora R4 | Dino PC Raptor X79 OC |
| Processor | Intel Core i5-2500K @ 4.2GHz | Intel Core i7-3820 @ 4.56GHz | Intel Core i7-3930K @ 4.1GHz | Intel Core i7-3820 @ 4.4GHz |
| Cooler | GELID Tranquillo | Asetek 510LC | Alienware Liquid Cooling | Xigmatek Prime SD1484 |
| Motherboard | ASUS P8Z68-M PRO | Gigabyte GA-X79-UD3 | Alienware mATX X79 | ASUS Sabertooth X79 |
| Memory | Corsair XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 | Kingston HyperX 8GB (4 x 2GB) DDR3 | Hynix 16GB (4 x 2GB) DDR3 | Corsair Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3 |
| Memory speed | 9-9-9-24-2T @ 1,600MHz | 9-9-9-24-1T @ 1,600MHz | 11-11-11-28-1T @ 1,600MHz | 9-9-9-24-2T @ 1,600MHz |
| Graphics card(s) | Gainward GeForce GTX 560 Ti Phantom 1GB | PowerColor Radeon HD 7950 3GB | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 1.5GB | VTX3D Radeon HD 7950 2GB |
| Sound card | Onboard high-definition audio | Onboard high-definition audio | Onboard high-definition audio | Onboard high-definition audio |
| Primary storage | 1TB Samsung HD103SJ HDD | 64GB Kingston V+200 SSD | 256GB Samsung PM810 SSD | 60GB Corsair Force Series 3 SSD |
| Secondary storage | - | 1TB Samsung HD103SJ HDD | 1TB Seagate Barracuda HDD | 1TB Hitachi Deskstar HDD |
| Optical drive | Samsung Blu-ray drive | Lite-On IHES112-115 Blu-ray drive | PLDS DH-24ABS DVD-RW | Samsung SH-222B DVD-RW |
| PSU | BeQuiet Straight Power CM (680W) | CyberPower PSU (950W) | Alienware PSU (875W) | Xigmatek NRP-PC702 (700W) |
| Chassis | Fractal Design Define Mini | CoolerMaster Storm Enforcer | Alienware Aurora ALX | Zalman Z11 Plus |
| Operating System | Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit | Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit | Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit | Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit |
| Standard Warranty | Two years collect-and-return | Three years limited (three-year labour, one-year parts, one-month collect and return) | One year next day in-home service | Three years (three-year labour, one-year parts, 30-day collect and return) |
Comparison Systems - Part Two |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| System name | PC Specialist Vanquish XT-680 | Scan 3XS Performance GTX | Scan 3XS Z77 Performance GTX | Scan 3XS Z77 Performance Q10 |
| Processor | Intel Core i7-3770K @ 4.6GHz | Intel Core i5-2500K @ 4.7GHz | Intel Core i5-3570K @ 4.6GHz | Intel Core i5-3570K @ 4.4GHz |
| Cooler | CoolIT ECO II ALC Fat Boy | Cogage Arrow | Thermalright HR-02 Macho | Thermalright Archon |
| Motherboard | ASUS P8Z77-V | Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD3 | Gigabyte GA-Z77X-D3H | Gigabyte GA-Z77X-D3H |
| Memory | Kingston HyperX 8GB (4 x 2GB) DDR3 | Corsair Vengeance LP 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 | Corsair Vengeance LP 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 | Corsair Vengeance LP 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 |
| Memory speed | 9-9-9-24-1T @ 1,600MHz | 9-9-9-24-2T @ 1,600MHz | 9-9-9-24-2T @ 1,600MHz | 9-9-9-24-2T @ 1,600MHz |
| Graphics card(s) | Palit GeForce GTX 680 2GB | EVGA GeForce GTX 680 2GB | EVGA GeForce GTX 680 2GB | Gainward GeForce GTX 660 Ti Phantom 2GB |
| Sound card | Onboard high-definition audio | Onboard high-definition audio | ASUS Xonar DG | Onboard high-definition audio |
| Primary storage | 120GB Kingston HyperX SSD | 2TB Seagate Barracuda HDD | 120GB Corsair Force Series 3 | 120GB Corsair Force Series 3 |
| Secondary storage | 1TB Seagate Barracuda HDD | - | 2TB Seagate Barracuda HDD | 2TB Seagate Barracuda HDD |
| Optical drive | LiteOn Blu-ray Drive / DVD-RW | Pioneer DVD-RW | Pioneer DVD-RW | LG BH10LS38 Blu-ray Writer |
| PSU | Corsair TX850 (850W) | Corsair Gaming Series GS600 (600W) | Corsair Gaming Series GS600 (600W) | be quiet! Straight Power E9 CM (480W) |
| Chassis | Cooler Master CM Storm Trooper | Corsair Carbide Series 300R | Corsair Carbide Series 300R | Corsair Obsidian Series 550D |
| Operating System | Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit | Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit | Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit | Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit |
| Standard Warranty | Three years (one-year collect-and-return, one-year parts, three-year labour) | Three years (first year onsite, second year return-to-base with parts and labour, third year return-to-base with labour only) | Three years (first year onsite, second year return-to-base with parts and labour, third year return-to-base with labour only) | Three years (first year onsite, second year return-to-base with parts and labour, third year return-to-base with labour only) |
Benchmarks |
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| Geekbench | A cross-platform benchmark used to measure memory and processor performance. | |||||||||||
| Cinebench | Using Cinebench's multi-CPU render, this cross-platform benchmark stresses as many cores as possible. | |||||||||||
| PCMark 7 | PCMark 7 combines various single- and multi-threaded CPU, Graphics and HDD tests to score overall system performance. | |||||||||||
| Aliens vs. Predator | 1,920x1,080 resolution, 2xAA, 16xAF, very high quality. | |||||||||||
| Just Cause 2 | 1,920x1,080 resolution, 4xAA, 16x AF, very high quality. | |||||||||||
| 3DMark 7 | Run at the 'extreme' preset. | |||||||||||
| Temperature | Noted for CPU idling, under Prime95 all-core load, and for GPU playing Aliens vs. Predator. | |||||||||||
| Power consumption | Noted for system idling, under Prime95 all-core load, and for GPU playing Aliens vs. Predator. | |||||||||||
| Noise | A PCE-318 noise level meter is placed at the front of the chassis. Noted for system idling, under Prime95 all-core load, and for GPU playing Aliens vs. Predator. | |||||||||||